Nissan Pathfinder vs Honda Pilot
Summary
Third-row legroom: Pilot 32.5 in, Pathfinder 28.0 — a 4.5 in gap between two vehicles sold as direct rivals. The Pilot adds 1.5 in of third-row headroom (39.3 vs 37.8) and 5.3 in of second-row legroom (40.8 vs 35.5).
Cargo follows: 18.6 vs 16.6 cu ft behind the third row, 48.5 vs 45.0 behind the second, 87.0 vs 80.5 at maximum, all Honda.
The Pathfinder's answers: 6,000 lb of towing against the Pilot's 5,000, and a lower price at both ends — $39,990 to $51,790 against $42,395 to $55,195. Third-row child-seat hardware is identical: one LATCH lower-anchor position, three top tethers.
The numbers, side by side
| Spec | Nissan Pathfinder | Honda Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| MSRP range | $39,990 – $51,790 | $42,395 – $55,195 |
| Space | ||
| Row 1 legroom | 44.3" | 41" |
| Row 2 legroom | 35.5" | 40.8" |
| Row 3 legroom | 28" | 32.5" |
| Row 3 headroom | 37.8" | 39.3" |
| Cargo behind row 3 | 16.6 cu ft | 18.6 cu ft |
| Cargo behind row 2 | 45 cu ft | 48.5 cu ft |
| Max cargo | 80.5 cu ft | 87 cu ft |
| Exterior | ||
| Length | 197.7" | 200.1" |
| Width (excl. mirrors) | 77.9" | 78.5" |
| Height | 70.9" | 71" |
| Capability | ||
| Max towing | 6,000 lbs | 5,000 lbs |
| Seating | ||
| Max seats | 8 | 8 |
| Second row | Captain’s chairs or bench | Captain’s chairs or bench |
The space gap is not close
The Pilot leads every published interior dimension that matters here: 4.5 in more third-row legroom, 1.5 in more third-row headroom, 5.3 in more in the second row. A 28.0 in third row is for children and short hops; a 32.5 in row takes a teenager or a tolerant adult. If the third row is why you are buying, this comparison ends early.
Cargo tells the same story more quietly: the Pilot carries two more cubic feet behind row three and six and a half more at maximum.
Where the Pathfinder pushes back
Towing: 6,000 lb against 5,000 — an extra 1,000 lb the Honda cannot answer, and the reason a boat-owning family might read this page in the other direction. Price: $2,405 cheaper at the floor, $3,405 at the ceiling.
Safety hardware doesn't separate them: each documents one third-row LATCH lower-anchor position and three top tethers, and both carry verified third-row curtain coverage — Nissan's stated in row-enumerated prose.
When each one fits
Honda Pilot: the vastly roomier cabin from the second row back, more cargo at every position, and the tall third-row ceiling. The default pick for carrying people.
Nissan Pathfinder: the extra 1,000 lb of towing and the lower price — the pick when the trailer outranks the third row, which its own step-up page (Pathfinder vs QX60) shows is also true against its luxury sibling.
Compare legroom yourself
Find your match
Six questions, deterministic scoring, top three matches across the full directory.
Take the quizWill you fit either third row?
Open the fit estimator preloaded with the Nissan Pathfinder and check both models against your height.
Best-value family 3-row
The guide lens closest to this pairing — the whole cohort re-sorted on that axis, answer stated up top.
Deciding across the whole segment, not just these models? See Best Family 3-Row SUVs — every published model, ranked from verified specs. A cross-segment pairing gets both rankings, because neither one alone covers the models on this page.